The Divorce Lawyer
by janelorizzoli
Summary: Emma finally decides to hire a lawyer for her long-due divorce, but ends up getting a bit more than she's looking for (prompt by dancefixation-hyhy on tumblr). This will probably only be a handful of chapters. Possible smut at the end, in which case I'll up the rating to M. We'll see how it works out.


Emma knew a divorce was coming. She'd known it for a while, but hadn't really made the decision to really go for it. She and Neal had been separated for almost two months at this point. They shared custody of Henry, and every day that the separation went on, Emma knew that it just got harder and harder for Henry to deal with. Henry needed stability; a real home, a normal family situation. And having one Dad living in house, and a Mom living with a roommate in a small apartment just wasn't good enough for him. He deserved more, and she knew it.

So she finally decided to pull out the card for the divorce lawyer that she'd gotten at the beginning of the separation. She looked at the card in front of her.

**Regina Mills - Divorce Attorney**

It was ridiculous that it was taking her this long to just call. Emma had worried about taking this next step and filing for divorce, because she was worried about how the home-situation might make it seem like Neal was the one who should be getting custody of Henry. But talking to a lawyer about her options was a far cry from actually bringing out the divorce papers. She could get a grasp on what needed to be done to get custody, as well as learn how she might be able to benefit financially more than she currently was.

Emma sighed and picked up the phone.

* * *

The yellow VW bug pulled up to the side of the road in front of an old Boston building. She killed the engine and got out of the car, taking a deep breath before walking up to the door and knocking. She wasn't used to meeting lawyers at their homes. Then again, she'd never actually hired a private lawyer before. The only other time she'd had to deal with a lawyer was when she'd gotten a state-appointed defense attorney for the whole watches issue.

The door opened quickly, and Emma jumped.

A chuckle escaped the mouth of the brunette that opened the door. "A bit jumpy, are we? First divorce?"

Emma furrowed her eyebrows. "Uh... yeah." She crossed her arms, feeling slightly uncomfortable as the woman at the door looked her over from head to toe. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, of course." The woman was still smiling as she stepped aside, motioning for Emma to come inside.

The inside of the apartment was just as Emma had expected. Well-furnished with antiques; interesting patterns on the wallpaper in all the different rooms that she could see, and a musty-but-warm feeling.

"Please, come take a seat."

Emma walked into the room Regina had entered and sat at one of the chairs surrounding the wooden coffee table. She saw the woman leave the room for what appeared to be the kitchen, and couldn't help but notice how tight her skirt was-and how high the slit in the back went up.

"Would you like anything to drink?" the gravelly voice came from the other room. "I made some fresh apple cider this morning. It's _very_ good, if I do say so myself."

"Um, just some water would be great. Thanks."

"Suit yourself."

The woman walked back into the room with Emma's glass of water, and handed it to her before taking a seat across from her.

"I'm Regina Mills, as I'm sure you probably guessed. And you must be Emma Swan."

Emma nodded, noticing that Regina's lip color matched the deep red of the wallpaper. "I brought the information you told me to bring, and I was wondering if we could get through this quickly. I really just want to get an idea of the situation with my kid before anything else."

Emma handed the file of papers she'd been carrying to Regina.

"Ah, yes. Of course."

As Regina fingered through the papers she'd been given, Emma took the time to look at the woman more carefully. She was very simply-dressed... black tights, black pencil-skirt, black boots, and a blue button-up collared top. Her sleeves were pushed up, making her seem more casual than she'd be otherwise, and her short, dark hair was playfully-messy; sticking out at the ends, and making her angular jaw look sharp, and slightly stern. Her makeup was perfectly-done, and her red lips seemed pursed. It was strange... because though her lips and her expression seemed hard, there was something about those round lips that made Emma wonder what they'd feel like. If they were softer than they appeared.

"Miss Swan?"

"Yes..." Emma blinked, and she re-focused. She realized the woman had been waiting for her to come to attention for quite some time. How long had she been staring at her lips?

"I think I've skimmed through this enough to know what I need to in order to make a quick assessment."

"And?"

"_And... _it seems as though it won't be too difficult for you to get full custody of your child. Henry, isn't it?"

"Yeah, Henry."

"Nice name..." Regina mused, and then got back on topic. "The whole situation with the watches when you two were younger is enough to show Neal's carelessness, as long as you don't have a problem testifying against him in court. That won't be a problem for you, will it?"

"Not at all." It was remarkable to Emma how Regina was able to talk to quickly, and her lips would just move so effortlessly, but after each time she finished talking, they would go back into that same pursed position. She seemed so serious, which was such a stark contrast to the effortless smiles she'd given Emma when she'd first arrived.

"Good. Well then, if that was your major issue, it seems as though it's been resolved. I take it you _will_ be filing for divorce then?"

"Most definitely. About time I get this thing done. So how soon can I file the papers? I know we have to do all those meeting with Neal and his attorney about the details and stuff before it's settled, which will take some time. I've seen enough TV to understand the gist of it. So I'd really like to get started as soon as possible."

Regina chuckled again, and Emma was immediately interested once again with how quickly this woman's facial expressions changed.

"I'm sure we can get some papers set up tonight, if you'd like to stay for a while."

"Sounds great. You know, I'm a little hungry though. I was kind of eager to get this going this morning, and didn't have any breakfast or anything. Can I come back later, or can we actually do this thing tomorrow or something?"

"Miss Swan, don't be ridiculous. I have food here if you'd like me to make you something? Or better yet, I can take you somewhere, and we can talk over brunch."

"Oh, um..."

"Come on, I insist!" Regina grinned at Emma.

"Okay then. Sounds good to me. But only if I drive," she said, grabbing her keys.

"Deal."

* * *

**A/N:** _Let me know what you think, and feel free to give any suggestions about how to proceed with their evolving relationship. I'm kinda just making this up as I go, since the idea came from a prompt. So feel free to chip in... don't be shy. ;)_

_I'm not sure when the next chapter will be coming. It depends how quickly I figure out how I'm going to make this work._


End file.
